Alfie Hewett & Gordon Reid headline British title winners across the globe
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Another week, another haul of trophies won by our British tennis players across the globe. We recap the title winners and big moments from the opening events of the season.
Hewett & Reid lift first doubles title of the year
Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid have started as they mean to go on in the 2025 season after winning their first title of the year at the Melbourne Wheelchair Open.
This marks the third time the pair have clinched the title at the ITF Super Series event, adding to the trophies they picked up in 2024 and 2020.
Hewett and Reid are arguably the most dominant doubles pairing on the Uniqlo Wheelchair Tennis Tour and it was no different this week in Melbourne. The British duo began their campaign with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Charlie Cooper and Yassin Hill before dropping just one game against Daniel Caverzaschi and Stephane Houdet in the semi-final.
However, a high-calibre final posed a tougher challenger as they took on Tom Egberink and Tokito Oda. In a nail-biting final showdown, the 21-time Grand Slam doubles champions managed to edge a 7-5, 7-5 victory to claim their first trophy of the season and place them in perfect stead heading into the Australian Open where they will bid to make it six doubles titles in a row.
Bains triumphs in New Delhi
British tennis star Naiktha Bains has got her 2025 season off to a flying start after winning the W50 New Delhi+H title with Ankita Raina.
The W50 tournament marked the Brit’s first tournament of the year and what a week it was. The British, Indian pair kick-started their journey with a straight sets victory over Diana Marcinkevica and Tina Nadine Smith to reach the quarter-finals.
There, they edge the match-deciding tie-break against Dalila Jakupovic and Laura Pigossi before dispatching home favourites Riya Bhatia and Vaidehi Chaudhari to qualify for the finals.
It was a tight encounter in the final against all-American duo Jessie Aney and Jessica Failla. With both partnerships winning a set each, it was the Bains and Raina who stayed more clinical in the match-deciding tie-break to eventually prevail 6-4, 3-6, 10-8 and take home the crown.
Crawford shines in Chennai to earn first M25 title of the season
Oliver Crawford had a week to remember after he won his ninth ITF title and first of the year at the M25 event in Chennai.
The 25-year-old had reached the semi-final in Indore a couple of weeks ago but finally found his breakthrough this week to lift the title.
He began his campaign by taking out two of the home favourites in Dev Javia and Chirag Duhan in straight sets before knocking out Yurii Dzhavakian 6-0, 6-0 to reach the semi-finals. There, the Brit defeated Greece’s Stefanos Sakellaridis to ease to the final without dropping a set.
However, his toughest challenge of the week came in his final clash against Ukraine’s Eric Vanshelboim. After dropping the opening set, Crawford fought hard to overturn the scoreboard as he sealed the second set before edging the tie-break to earn a 5-7, 6-3, 7-6(5) victory.
Elsewhere on the ITF tour, Hamish Stewart came within touching distance of his first professional title.
Competing at the M15 event in Cadolzburg the 25-year-old battled through to the final before eventually falling short in a 7-6(2), 6-3 defeat to Germany’s Justin Engel to finish runner-up.
